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Biopsychosocial Model Of Obesity

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There are more than one billion overweigh adults in the world with at least three hundred of these adults being obese. In North America, obesity has increasingly become one of the most important public health problems (Flegal, Graubard, Williamson, & Gail 2005). With cases of obesity increasing, there has also been more exportation of research being done into the topic. Moreover, social, psychological and biological factors are being investigated to determine aspects that may influence the onset of obesity. This paper will focus on two specific domains of the biopsychosocial model of health with a focus on psychological and social factors that affect obesity. The first domain being analyzed in its relation to obesity is psychological. While …show more content…

In a meta-analysis combined by a group of researchers, results found that soft drinks—a product with an immense amount of sugar—are associated with increased body weight (Vartanian, Schwartx & Brownell 2007). Certain behavioural issues have also been shown to have an impact on weight gain. A 2013 suggests these findings as study boys aged 10-17 and girls aged 10-17 who were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, abbreviated as ADHD, have a higher chance of being overweight than children in the general population (Holtkamp K, Konrad K, Müller B, Heussen N, Herpertz S, Herpertz-Dahlmann B, et al. (2004). There are emotional factors like depression and certain behavioural aspects that may influence an onset of obesity in the …show more content…

An article published in the Journal of Preventive Medicine examined this association by studying 300 healthy Swedish female participants ranging from age 30 to 65 years old. They measured SES using the Hollingshead Index of social position and found that Swedish women who possessed a low social position were at a higher level of being overweight or obese compared to women with a high social position (Wamala, Wolk & Orth-Gomér 1997). Researchers in the study concluded that women who experienced low control at their place of work may cause them to overeat, particularly if they have low education status and job. This is interesting to note as psychological behaviours (i.e, overeating) overlap with social factors to influence being obese during their

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